The Turn of the Year
PROVE ALL THINGS BIBLE STUDY
THE TURN OF THE YEAR
WHAT DOES THE TERM "END OF THE YEAR" OR AS SOME TRANSLATIONS SUGGEST "TURN OF THE YEAR" MEAN? DOES IT LITERALLY MEAN THE END OF THE YEAR, THE LAST MONTH OF THE YEAR? THIS IS DECEMBER IN THE ROMAN CALENDAR, AND ADAR IN THE HEBREW CALENDAR.
1. What three times does God require His people to keep feasts?
Deu. 16:16 "Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty."
2. How can we know when these times are according to God's Word?
Exo. 12:2, "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you."
Exo. 13:4, "This day came ye out in the month Abib."
Abib or Aviv means: month of green ears. Each person can tell when the early growing season comes to their land and the ancients had the knowledge of astronomy. They knew when the circuit of seasons had passed.
3. What do we look for when we see the changing of seasons?
In the Bible we see the term: turn of the year. Exo 34:22 , "And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end." Read this scripture from the Interlinear Bible--Hebrew-English, Strong's numbers Published by Hendrickson "And you shall observe a Feast of Weeks for yourself, the firstfruits of the harvest of wheat; also the Feast of Ingathering at the turn of the year."
4. What exactly is the turn of the year?
Turn of the year means: when the sun turns from one hemisphere to the other hemisphere! We know that at the vernal equinox the sun turns from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere. At the autumnal equinox the sun turns from the Northern Hemisphere to the Southern Hemisphere. According to the New Brown-Driver-Briggs- Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon, Strong's number 8622, the word turn means: coming round, circuit, Exo. 34:22 means at the circuit (completion) of the year. I Sam. 1:20 means finished circuit of sun.
5. How does this affect the Holy Day calendar?
God's Word, the Bible strongly implies that we must have Passover at the earliest time after the turn of the season begins. Exo. 12:2 "This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you." We find this season verified by reading Exo. 9:31-32 , "And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and the rie were not smitten: for they were not grown up."
6. When is the Feast of Tabernacles to be observed?
Lev. 23:34 , "Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD."
7. Why is this month Tishri, the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar referred to as the "turn of the year"?
Exo. 23:16, "And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end (turn of the sun from the Northern hemisphere to the Southern hemisphere) of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field."
Exo. 34:22 "And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's (turn) end." The turn is when the sun crosses or turns from one hemisphere to the other hemisphere. Turning from the Southern Hemisphere to the Northern Hemisphere is called the vernal equinox.. According to the Bible, it is called the turn not the equinox!
The seventh month is the end (turn) of the agricultural year, after the crops had been gathered in. The "turn of the year or the end of the year" is referring to the agricultural season. By the middle of October all the crops were harvested and the plowing had begun.
Ecc. 3:1 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."
Psa. 74:17 , "Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter." Exo.34:21, "Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest."
8. What does the turn of the year have to do with the Passover?
Exo.13:10 "Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year."
Exo. 23:15-16 "Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end (turn) of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field."
Exo 34:21-22 "Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end."
To keep the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles in the proper time of their seasons, we need to know when the turn of the year is! If we keep Passover too late in the spring, we will be keeping the Feast of Tabernacles too late in the autumn (some years as late as November). It would fall months after the harvest, when people should have plowed the fields and were ready for the winter rains.
9. Should you always use the new moon after the spring equinox for the first day of Abib, or should you use the closest new moon to the spring equinox?
As we have seen, if we always observe the new moon after the spring turn (equinox) for the first day of Abib, we will keep some of the Holy Days out of the proper season. Passover can be as much as 42 days after the spring turn (equinox) and the Last Great Day (which pictures the final harvest) could be as much as 42 days after the autumnal turn (equinox). God says to keep the Holy Days at the appointed time!
Psa 104:19, "He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down."
Exo 13:10, "Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year."
Exo 23:15-16, "Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end (turn) of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.
Num. 9:2-3, "Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it."
10. By keeping the Passover at the turning of spring, do we keep the Feast of Tabernacles at the turning of autumn?
When keeping the new moon nearest to the spring equinox for the first month of the year, it keeps the Feast of Tabernacles close to the autumnal equinox. This also keeps the months of the growing cycle in their proper time.
Deu. 16:1, "Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night."
Exo. 34:21-22 , "Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end (turn)."
11. How do we count time by following God's Word?
By counting time from Jerusalem time zone, we keep the Holy Days the same as we keep the Sabbath day. We wait the for day to comes to us after they have started in Jerusalem. We use the new moon nearest the vernal equinox to find the first month in God's calendar.
THIS KEEPS BOTH THE PASSOVER AND DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD AT THE TURN OF SPRING AND THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES CLOSE TO THE AUTUMNAL TURN!
Length of Day and Night at the Equinoxes: "Day and night are not exactly of equal length at the time of the March and September equinoxes. The dates on which the day and night are each twelve hours happen at different dates. The specific dates of this occurrence are different on different latitudes. On the day of an equinox (turn) the geometric center of the Sun's disk crosses the equator, turning from the Southern hemisphere to the Northern hemisphere and this point is above the horizon for 12 hours everywhere on the Earth!"
U.S. Naval Observatory
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